Aero: Amanda Vitale – France 2018 – Food and Dining

Posted by LEAF Architect on Friday, September 14, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Aero: Amanda Vitale – France 2018 – Food and Dining

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Amanda Vitale

The food experience in France was one of my favorite parts of this trip. I tried new and exciting foods. I noticed how the French saw food differently than most Americans do. Food and meal-time was seen as a greater significance in France. Thus, I saw many savor and fully enjoy their meal-time. In this way, they tend to spend a lot more time when eating meals.

In America, many eat on the go. This is far different in France, while many take out the time in their day to sit down and eat. I noticed that even in most French restaurants, one can’t get food to go. They understand the importance of sitting down and enjoy what’s in front of them, instead of eating like it’s a routine task. In most restaurants in France, a server will get your order, bring out your meal, and then leave you be until they are called over again. One reason for this behavior is that servers in France get a decent salary with no tips from their customers. The servers in France don’t need to worry about “flipping tables” to make more money in tips like many worry about in America. Therefore, the servers in France will let people sit down and enjoy their meals and socialize. They will let them stay however long they would like with no interruptions and without feeling any rush. I believe it would be nice if some American restaurants would begin to follow in doing something similar to this. It was nice to not feel super rushed while enjoying my meals in the restaurants of France.

In the same topic of food, snacking is very uncommon in France. The French typically eat 3 meals throughout the day without snacking in between. This is a rare phenomenon for most Americans to accomplish. This made me realize that many Americans do snack too much throughout the day. I believe snacking in America is also a large reason for the high obesity rates here.

Throughout the many people I saw in France, I didn’t see one obese person, which is unlike what I typically see in America. There are many reasons for this, but it shows that overall the French know better when it comes to portioning food. They know how to enjoy their food without intaking too much.

Moving from this, in my host family, the most important meal of the day was dinner. The father would light up the fireplace for each dinner, which kept the dining room comfortably warm. We ate dinner much later than what I’m used to. Back home, I’m used to eating dinner around 6pm, while in my host family we ate around 8 or 9pm, every night. This was a difficult change at first, but I soon realized that the wait was worth it. Every night, a three-course meal was offered for dinner. The first course was typically the largest and was more-so the main course. Then we’d move on to something smaller, for example, cheese and bread was commonly the second course. The cheese wasn’t like what I’m used to, it was fresh and very flavorsome. After, we would have some sort of dessert. My host family never skipped out on dessert, even if the food was already satisfyingly filling. Healthier options were typically given for dessert, like fruit or yogurt. We also had a few desserts throughout the week that weren’t so healthy like macaroons and cake.

Overall, the food in France was very delicious and enjoyable. From this experience, I’ve learned to sit down during meal-times when I have the chance and to truly enjoy and appreciate the food and the people around me.

Amanda Vitale
Study Abroad – France 2018 @ FLCC

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